http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/heal...-keep-drinking
Doctors are telling severe alcoholics needing help to keep drinking because there is a shortage of acute detoxification beds in the South Island, specialists say.
A Canterbury doctor, who asked not to be named, said he had dealt with several patients who wanted to stop drinking but could not do so safely unless in a hospital or a detox unit.
He said the Kennedy Detoxification Unit at Hillmorton Hospital, which serviced the South Island, was either full or would not accept emergency cases.
Heavy drinkers could suffer from seizures and delirium while detoxing, so if no beds were available he would tell them to keep drinking.
"If the person is suicidal or severely depressed or has other medical problems like a gastric ulcer that requires them to stop drinking, you are in a real bind," he said.
He was told the Kennedy unit did not want to use its beds for acute cases unless patients already had a treatment programme in place for after their detox. This was unrealistic for some people with severe addictions and left them with "nowhere to go in a life-threatening situation".
One patient was rejected from the unit, only to be admitted to Christchurch Hospital soon after with acute complications from alcohol.
It was "virtually unheard of" for Christchurch Hospital to admit people for medical detoxification unless they had other health problems.
The doctor said other regions, such as Nelson, had arrangements with their hospitals for acute admissions.
The doctor said services provided by non-government organisations were great for people with mild addiction problems, but those with severe problems needed people with a medical or psychiatric background.
National Addiction Centre director Professor Doug Sellman said there were problems across the country for people needing medical detoxification beds.
He said there were about 120,000 people with an alcohol-addiction problem in New Zealand, and about 10 per cent of them would need a medical detox to stop drinking.
"If you can't get a place and can't get medical attention and suffer convulsions, it's best to keep drinking," he said.
Sellman said there was probably more detoxing in police cells than at medical detox units because New Zealand treated alcoholism and drug addiction as a justice issue rather than a health issue.
Christchurch City Mission alcohol and drug services manager Jan Spence said people needing medical detoxification were usually in crisis and any delay in treatment could be dangerous.
There could be a two to three-week wait for a bed at the Kennedy unit, and people could lose their resolve to give up, she said.
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"If people can't get instant gratification for their immediate problems, they may go off the boil and not present again for treatment," she said.
She said the City Mission tried to get people straight into the appropriate service once assessed.
The clinical head of the Canterbury District Health Board's alcohol and drug service, Dr David Stoner, said the Kennedy unit had six beds for the South Island.
Alcohol detoxification was risky and an exit plan "strengthened a patient's commitment to change".
"There is no evidence that detox alone has a better outcome than doing nothing," he said.
Other options included community and home detox run by non-government organisations or hospitals if a patient was acute.
"The beds are for people with identified risks; for example, a history of seizures or a high risk of developing delirium tremens," he said.
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Originally Posted by SMOKEU
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